4 FanDuel Premier League Players to Avoid in Matchweek 15

Swansea's Lukasz Fabianski is the top-priced keeper for Matchweek 15 despite conceding nine goals in his previous two matches. What other players should we avoid in Matchweek 15?

Matchweek 15 sees the top squads returning from Matchday 6 of the European tournaments (Champions League and Europa), meaning DFS players, as always, should look at injury reports and confirmed starting XI when they become available.

As with any sport, it is imperative to have your players, especially the high-priced studs, live up to their price tag. When making an investment into any player, it is important to determine which players will likely contribute in FanDuel's emphasized areas (goals, assists and shots on target). It's also just as important not to overspend on players in bad matchups. We should look to take advantage of the teams -- and players -- who play especially well either home or away while also looking at Vegas favorites and over/under totals

FanDuel made their Premier League DFS games available to U.S. players starting in Matchweek 10, and this article will be geared toward the main slate for the U.S.-based FanDuel site. The main slate for Matchweek 15 features five Saturday matches, which include two of the top five clubs.

Let's take a look at four players, across the entire pitch, who should be avoided in the upcoming matches.

Forward

Callum Wilson, Bournemouth

FanDuel Price: $7,000

Wilson is the 13th-highest priced forward for Matchweek 15, although a couple forwards priced above him have been ruled out or are game-time decisions. Wilson has averaged 13.58 FanDuel points while scoring five goals this season.

Wilson and Bournemouth travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley. The Clarets have conceded eight goals in eight matches in front of their home fans while controlling 39.7% of the possession. The Cherries are a slight favorite over the Clarets, and the over/under is set at 2.5 goals.

Wilson's home and away statistics are similar, differing in chances created, which leads to the gap in FanDuel scoring.

Home

Away

Goals

3

2

Chances Created

7

1

Shots on Target

5

4

Average FanDuel Points

17.75

10

Wilson's recent stats seem to show that the forward is in good form, scoring a goal in his last two matches while creating one chance. Diving into those stats show that both Wilson's goals came from penalties and his one chance created came on his home pitch against Liverpool. In his last two matches, Wilson has only taken two shots on target, both penalties, while he was only able to tally one other shot. which ended up off target. Wilson has not scored a goal in open-play since Matchweek 8 against Hull.

Burnley has proven their willingness to sit back defensively this season, absorbing their opponent's attack. The Clarets are league's second-worst squad at maintaining possession on their home pitch while being the ninth-best squad at limiting their opponents scoring at Turf Moor. The Clarets are maintaining more possession than normal, possessing the ball 44% and 55% of the time in two of their last three matches. The Cherries do not dominate possession away from Dean Court, averaging 49.1% of the possession in away matches.

The Clarets ability to limit goals on their home pitch, along with Wilson's recent struggles in open-play, make Wilson a top target to avoid.

Midfielder

Granit Xhaka

FanDuel Price: $6,700

Xhaka is tied for the 15th-highest priced midfielder for Matchweek 15 and has averaged 14.98 FanDuel points while playing in 11 matches. Xhaka and Arsenal host Stoke at Emirates Stadium, and the Gunners enter Saturday's match as a large favorite.

The Gunners maintain 53.3% of the possession on their home pitch while having scored 15 goals at Emirates Stadium. Xhaka generally plays a defensive midfield role for the Gunners and is not greatly involved in the attack, scoring on his only shot on target this season. Xhaka has created six chances this year, but he's been unable to record an assist. Most of Xhaka's fantasy relevance comes from defensive statistics. The midfielder has shown a decent floor this season, scoring over 10 FanDuel points in every match he has started while scoring over 20 points in three of his starts.

Arsenal will likely control Saturday's match against Stoke, limiting Xhaka's ability to earn defensive statistics. DFS players should look at other midfielders that may produce more in their squad's attack while having the ability to earn extra FanDuel points with defensive stats -- such as Swansea's Leroy Fer, who is also priced at $6,700.

Defender

Scott Dann, Crystal Palace

FanDuel Price: $5,700

Dann is tied for the seventh-highest priced defender for Matchweek 15 and has averaged 20 FanDuel points through his 10 starts. The Eagles enter Saturday's match against Hull City as the favorite. Dann was in great form in his first five starts, averaging 25.6 FanDuel points and scoring over 20 points four times.

Over his last five matches, however, Dann's FanDuel production has dipped as he is averaging 14.4 FanDuel points in that span while scoring over 20 FanDuel points just once. Dann has been extremely consistent recording clearances, making four or more clearances in all his matches, including an eight-clearance outing in Matchweek 2 against Tottenham.

Dann has been somewhat involved in the Eagles' attack, scoring 2 goals on 12 shots and assisting on 1 goal. However, like most defenders, Dann's fantasy production is sustained and rises through defensive statistics. Dann's ability to earn defensive statistics will likely be limited against a Hull squad that struggles with possessing the ball and finding shots.

Dann has been a solid piece in the center of Palace's back line and will continue to produce defensive statistics this season, especially against better sides. The Tigers' ineffectiveness in the attack makes Dann a defender who DFS players should avoid in favor of defenders with higher upside.

Keeper

Lukasz Fabianski, Swansea City

FanDuel Price: $6,700

Fabianski is tied with Burnley's Tom Heaton as the top-priced keeper for Matchweek 15, and he has averaged 12.05 FanDuel points. Fabianski and Swansea host Sunderland at Liberty Stadium. The Swans enter Saturday's match as the favorite, and the over/under is set at 2.5 goals. The Swans possess the ball 48% of the match at Liberty Stadium while the Black Cats possess the ball 36.8% of the match away from the Stadium of Light, which is the worst away possession rate in the Premier League.

Clean sheets and saves are extremely important for keeper scoring on FanDuel, and Fabianski has kept two clean sheets this season. Since his last clean sheet in Matchweek 9 against Watford, Fabianski has conceded 16 goals across five fixtures and has averaged 3.6 saves per match. The Swans' back line has struggled this season, especially of late, and they are allowing 15.3 shots per match this season at Liberty Stadium.

The Black Cats, despite their struggles this season, have performed better as of late. During the first eight weeks of the campaign, Sunderland was held scoreless four times and struggled in all aspects on the pitch, failing to record a win. In their last five matches, though, the Black Cats have only been held scoreless once while taking all three points in three of their last four.

Fabianski and the Swans' back line have been in poor form recently and find themselves at the bottom of the Premier League table. Neither squad is likely to take control of the possession, limiting both squads' ability to produce shots on target. However, both squads have struggled to keep clean sheets, and as the top-priced keeper for Matchweek 15, Fabianski's upside is limited, making him a player to avoid.